Assalamu Alaikum!
Today's post is a rather simple one. In case you were wondering what stationary brands we use or, like us, you enjoy receiving simple Eid gifts such as stationary, then hopefully you will find this post useful. So let's begin.
1. Pens
When it comes to pens there are a few things to bear in mind. First of all, the pen that you use will have an affect on your handwriting. So if you have messy handwriting you might want to try a different pen to see if it improves - you might be surprised!
Secondly, there are many different types of pens: ballpoint, gel, fountain, rollerball, etc. Just because one pen suits someone doesn't mean it will work for you. Experiment and try to find out which kind you prefer using. Another thing to consider is the thickness of the pen. Do you prefer a micro, fine, medium or broad line? Here's a tip: if your handwriting tends to be messy, try a pen with a finer nib.
The last thing we want to mention is to check how long it takes for the ink to dry. We usually like fast-drying ink as it reduces the risk of accidental smudging.
2. Pencils
Now we move on to pencils. We normally buy Staedtler pencils as they are good quality and we sketch and draw a lot. The Staedtler colour pencils are quite good too.
We try to avoid cheaper pencils as the lead usually breaks easily(so you have to keep sharpening them) and the colours are never as bright. These type of pencils don't sharpen easily either, sometimes the rubbers don't work and they are often wrapped in plastic.
They often attract kids because they have popular cartoon characters on them but they really aren't worth it!
Another brand we like is Faber-Castell. They have very nice colours and we usually buy them.
3. Sharpeners
Again, with sharpeners we usually go for Staedtler , but we also like the Maped ones. Actually, the brand doesn't really matter, it's whether or not the sharpener is metal.
Metal sharpeners sharpen better and last longer.
We recommend you avoid the cheap plastic kind as they don't work that well and usually end up breaking.
4. Rubbers
It is probably not a good idea to buy those rubbers in the shapes of food and animals and things. Yes, they are adorable but that is the problem!
You end up not wanting to use them because they are so cute. Also, the truth is when you do try using them they are rather fiddly.
Just stick to a regular rubber - the plain boring kind is best. You can buy the food or animal rubbers as toys for your dollhouse instead!
5. Rulers
Try choosing wooden or metal rulers over plastic ones when possible. They are obviously better for the environment and they are harder to break so they last longer.
6. Glue
The only glue we really use is the UHU glue. It is very strong and works on paper, fabric and even wood.
We also like the UHU glue stick. If we want a less strong glue, for paper Mache projects for example, we usually use a white glue.
7. Highlighters
Our go to brands for highlighters are Staedtler and Stabilo Boss. However, an important thing to note is that the yellow highlighters are the best kind. You may have already noticed that they are the most popular, but not necessarily know why.
It's because our eyes are most sensitive to this colour and therefore it is easier to see. When revising, if you highlight something in yellow, you are more likely to notice and remember it!
8. Scissors
When we were very young our mum bought us some children's safety scissors so we could practice cutting. Unfortunately, they were rubbish. They didn't work well at all because they were made of plastic - they kept bending the paper instead of cutting it. This just made us frustrated! Our mum then gave us a normal(metal) pair of scissors and we were fine.
So don't waste your money on those things! True, you don't have to supervise kids using safety scissors but they will most likely get frustrated and just end up asking you to do it for them anyway.
9. Sticky Notes
It is best to use paper sticky notes and tabs instead of plastic as it is better for the environment. Plastic takes a very long time to break down and we should all try to avoid it when possible. Also, the plastic tabs are harder to write on anyway.
10. Sharpies
Yes, we know that they are pens, but we thought they deserved to be mentioned on their own. They are permanent markers and come in a variety of different colours. Instead of buying those large permanent markers that smell horrible, we prefer to get a pack of Sharpies.
Well, that's all for this post. If you would like to see our 10 basic journaling supplies you can click here. Hope you enjoyed it and see you next Friday, insha'Allah.
Wassalam,
I agree, the plastic ones are rubbish. I remember Ramlah used to use the plastic scissors and in the end I finished off with just giving her the metal scissor.
ReplyDeleteThe food and animal erasers are stained black from the graphite pencil after you finish erasing, and they sometimes finish faster than real erasers. There was once a kit (mini erasers) on Klutz that anyone could have seen it was not worth it.
Oh, and the pencils. I like to get the faber castell pencils and they are durable and they don't break easily. But with all the copy branfs arond its so hard to get good quality materials!
Yes, copy brands are annoying. There was a time when we couldn't find the proper UHU glue brand and the copy brands weren't as good. Our favourite stationary shops in Qatar are Al Rawnaq, Daiso, Jarir Bookstore and WHSmith. Do you know any others?
ReplyDeleteUh, yes? I'm not sure, I think I have gone to every stationery shop you mentions. Jarir is way too expensive and though they do have good quality we don't really get from there. Daiso is japanese I think so it is almost as expensive. But the quality isn't as great. Rawnaq is a bit near so we visit that (not Town-Centre). Um and the quality isn't really good but it does last. WHSmith is good. I remember I have a water-color set from there!
ReplyDeleteI know a fabric store at Old Airport, we got yarn and stuffing from there. It's also pretty big. We usually get fabric from Lulu (upstairs).
Yes, unfortunately, the craft shops here can be quite expensive! We usually do a big shop for supplies in England during the summer holidays. There is more of a variety and you can find some cheaper stationary shops with good quality materials.
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